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Mike CoppingerESPN
SAN ANTONIO — Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano aim to put their names in the record books on Saturday night as one will become the undisputed junior middleweight champion. Charlo enters the bout as a -260 favorite, according to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill.
The winner will join Josh Taylor, Teofimo Lopez, Bernard Hopkins, Jermain Taylor, Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk as undisputed champions in the four-belt era.
Charlo (34-1), the current WBC, WBA and IBF titleholder, earned his gold with wins over Jeison Rosario last September and Tony Harrison in December 2019. Castano (17-0-1) beat Patrick Teixeira in February to win the WBO strap.
The PBC-promoted fight will be broadcast on Showtime with the three-bout main card beginning at 9 p.m. ET.
The other title fight on the card features Rolando Romero defending his WBA interim lightweight title against Anthony Yigit. The undefeated Romero (13-0) beat Jackson Martinez in August to win the title. Yigit (24-1-1) is making his first appearance since June 2019.
Follow along throughout the night as we provide results and analysis for every fight on the card.
Fight in progress: Bakhram Murtazaliev vs. Khiary Gray, 8 rounds, junior middleweights
Rubio remains unbeaten with decision win over Manriquez
Pablo Rubio Jr. pounded out a six-round unanimous decision over Eric Manriquez, scoring two knockdowns in the final round to close out strong in their junior lightweight fight.
Rubio (13-0, 4 KOs) boxed and moved for the majority of the bout, before stunning Manriquez at the end of the fifth. Rubio, who is managed by Sampson Lewkowicz, hails from Los Angeles.
Medina rolls with first-round KO
Amed Medina of Los Angeles improved to 3-0 with three knockouts, earning a first-round TKO of Reginald Hinson. The 18-year-old was making his U.S. debut after two fights in Mexico.
Medina, a featherweight, floored Hinson with a left hook that he never recovered from. Hinson (1-1, 0 KOs) made it back to his feet, but was in no shape to continue and the referee waved it off at 2:03 of the opening round.
Heavyweight Zavala KO over West
Robert Zavala Jr., a heavyweight fighting out of Del Rio, Texas, remained unbeaten with a third-round KO of Levi West.
Zavala (2-0, 2 KOs) dropped West in Round 2 and then finished him off in Round 3 by sending him through the ropes. Zavala enjoyed a 55-pound weight advantage, tipping the scales at 254 while West came in as a cruiserweight at 199.2 pounds. West, who is from San Antonio, twice spit out his mouthpiece to buy time.
The fight was called off at 1:49 of Round 3.
Nunez KOs Alfaro to open the night
Junior lightweight Xavier Nunez kicked off the untelevised portion of Saturday’s Charlo-Castano card with a fourth-round stoppage of David Alfaro in a battle of Texans.
Nunez laid a beating on Alfaro, bloodying his nose, and improved to 2-0 with 2 KOs in the 130-pound bout. Alfaro falls to 1-5 with no knockouts.
Still to come:
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Title fight: Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano, 12 rounds, for Charlo’s IBF, WBC and WBA junior middleweight titles and Castano’s WBO junior middleweight title
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Title fight: Rolando Romero vs. Anthony Yigit, 12 rounds, for Romero’s WBA interim lightweight title
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Amilcar Vidal vs. Immanuwel Aleem, 10 rounds, middleweights